Hello. This is Michelle Phelan, nutritionist at Blossom Bariatrics, where expertise meets true compassion. We’re always here for you before, during, and after your weight loss surgery procedure–because it’s the after that’s the most important part.
Today we’re going to talk about Vitamin D3 deficiency. As many as 91% of bariatric patients can become deficient in Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is so important for many bodily functions, but the most important one is the absorption of your calcium. Calcium cannot be absorbed properly without adequate amounts of D3.
The more absorbable and active form of Vitamin D is actually D3. Many of the prescriptions out there are actually the synthetic version which is D2, and less active and harder to absorb. So, always look, folks, for D3. You’ll find them in a gel cap or liquid form and this format is actually more preferable for absorption for all bariatric patients. You can go upwards of 5,000 to 10,000 International Units (IU) of Vitamin D3 a day. And, if you’re under the care of your physician, you can definitely utilize what your physician tells you; but just know you can keep around 5,000 to 10,000 IUs a day to make sure that you have adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 in your system–and, of course, this is daily.
For those of you that get a lot of sun every day, please keep this in mind: Vitamin D3 can be absorbed on your skin. In fact, that’s actually the best way for D3 to be absorbed and synthesized into your body. But for those of you that wear sun block on a regular basis, you’re not synthesizing your D3 from the sunshine. So, I always tell my patients, “Get at least 15 minutes a day in the sun without sun block, and you’re sure to get your D3 the natural way through sunshine.”
Thank you for joining me. Don’t forget to check us out on our website www.blossombariatrics.com for any additional information or questions that you may have.
Thank you and have a very healthy day.
